Selected Headlines

A conservative association of clerics has rejected government critic Ayatollah Yousef Sanei as a source of emulation.

Fars News Agency reported that the Qom Seminary Lecturers Association replied to repeated queries by a group of lecturers and scholars about Sanei's authority as a source of emulation. The reply, which was signed by Ayatollah Yazdi, said: "In response to repeated questions by the faithful, having conducted research in the past year and following many meetings, the Qom Seminary Lecturers Association has reached the conclusion that he [Sanei] lacks the necessary qualifications for assuming this position."

Iran's rulers must compromise with opposition figures to avoid a worsening of the political turmoil, said the son of the late dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri in comments released Saturday.

In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Said Montazeri said he hoped Iran's rulers would come to their senses and called on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to resign.

"Things can't go on for long like this," Montazeri was quoted as saying in an interview conducted by mobile phone from his home in Qom. It was unclear when the interview took place.

"I think the future structure of our society is not so important. It could be an Islamic Republic, a secular republic, or as far as I am concerned, even a monarchy. The main thing is that people can live in freedom and in prosperity," he said.

The pro-Mousavi Ayatollah, has come under attack in recent weeks for criticizing the government and according to some reformist Web sites his offices in Tehran, Mashhad, Kerman, Sari, Gorgan and Shiraz were attacked by plainclothes militia.

Lebanese Source of Emulation Allameh Sayyed Mohammad Hossein Fazlollah said dialogue between the Iranian government and the opposition is the only way out of the current crisis in Iran.

Expressing distress over the Ashura incidents in Iran, Fazlollah said, "We ask Iranians to do two things, one is to come to the negotiating table and discuss all points of dispute, and two, for both sides to prevent oppressive governments from hurting the Iranian nation."

In a meeting with an Iranian delegation headed by Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini in Damascus, Allameh Fazlollah said, "I warn the opposition leaders against crossing the red lines of the Islamic establishment, as such behaviors will enable the enemies to abuse the Muslim ummah."

Meanwhile, Hani Abdullah, head of Allameh Fazlollah's office, rejected having been contacted by Iranian Reformists to request the Grand Ayatollah's mediation in the Iranian dispute.

Earlier media reports had suggested that the reformists had contacted Allameh Fazlollah to ask him to mediate in the dispute given the respect Iran's leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has for the Lebanese cleric.

Shia Source of Emulation Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi said that in the past 30 years, there has been no sedition as complicated and enormous as this, where the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), laics, non-Muslims and cults are active.

"I warned certain figures to leave Ashura alone as it is not in their interest but they did not listen and what had to happen, happened," he said. The Ayatollah pointed to the magnanimity of the rally held in condemnation of the violation of the Ashura sanctity and stressed that the "sacrilege should not be blamed on political rivals."

He put the presence of the people in the rally on a par with that of the early days of the revolution. "On Ashura the enemy insulted Imam Hussein and the Leadership but these efforts were to no avail. It [the sacrilege] awakened our nation and showed that our people are vigilant and on the scene [ready].

"These incidents are far beyond the election issues. It shows that they [opposition] have lost control [over their movement] and what we are seeing today is a war on Islam and the rejection of the religious rule and we should not write this off as [post-] election disputes."

He pointed to foreign interference in Iran's internal affairs and said, "Foreigners are very active. We [Sic.] learned that in one day 700 messages were sent to our country and they were hopeful [that things would change] but the Wednesday rally in Iran showed that their dreams would not be coming true because they thought that a velvet revolution would succeed but [have now] realized they were wrong."

"We must prepare ourselves for the next phase. They thought that the deed was done but were made to realize it is just the beginning. After yesterday's rally I am no longer concerned and the people should be hopeful.Nno one should lose hope because the enemy's dreams did not become reality."

The Majlis Judiciary and Legal Commission approved a 10-article bill which allows men to marry a second wife.

The Islamic Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Commission spokesman Amin Hossein Rahimi as saying that having the first wife's permission, the first wife's inability to perform marital relations, refusal to perform wifely duties and the wife's insanity or serious health problems were the first four articles of the bill.

Rahimi added that if a woman is sentenced to a one-year prison term for any crime, even traffic law violations, the husband can request permission to marry a second time.

"But if the women is sentenced to paying a monetary fine and is not able to do so and therefore jailed, the husband must wait until after she serves her jail term before applying for a second marriage permit."

Addiction, having inappropriate friends, maltreatment of the spouse, one-year absence from home, and abandoning the husband for one year were the other articles under which the husband can request remarriage.

"Absence from home and abandoning the husband for one year are different; abandoning your spouse means going to a relatives' homes or father's home, while absence means not knowing where the wife is."

Senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati on Friday called on the judiciary to deal much more strongly with rioters.

"The judiciary system should act with more speed in dealing with rioters [who took part in illegal rallies]," said Ayatollah Jannati, who led the Friday prayers in Tehran.

Jannati's remarks come in the wake of anti-government protests during Ashura ceremonies marking the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. Ayatollah Jannati called for the immediate arrest and trial of rioters. He said the rioters are clear examples of those who deserve the harshest punishment for desecrating Islamic beliefs.

He added that U.S, plots against the Islamic Republic over the past 30 years were aimed at undermining Islam and the revolution.

Hojjatoleslam Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri condemned the Ashura sacrilege and urged critics devoted to the establishment to distance themselves from the sacrilegious minority.

"This [Ashura sacrilege] shows that a small and deceived minority have intentionally or unintentionally used this opportunity to further the objectives the enemy has been pursuing for the past 30 years.

"The deeds committed at the hands of this small minority were ghastly and showed the true nature of this deceived minority to our people and the Muslim world."

The Leader's top aide urged Iranians to be vigilant and "separate this minority from those who might have criticism, but adhere to the constitution, the values [of the establishment] and the Just Jurist."

He urged critics and those who have objections and adhere to principles to "distance themselves from the deceived minority."

Videos:

An interview with Mohsen Kadivar.

Shiraz province Friday Prayer Leader

Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Iranian press, and excerpts where the source is in English. The link to the news organization or blog is provided at the top of each item. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Please refer to theMedia Guideto help put the story in perspective.